Alberto Contador announced on Instagram earlier this week that he will be taking some time off from his work in the cycling world to recover from surgery. The retired "El Pistolero" had over 100 lipomas removed on December 21.

Lipomas are fatty tumors that form between the skin and muscle and are usually not cancerous. Their removal can be done with a local anesthetic injection, and each lipoma removal takes 20-45 minutes. Complete healing takes 3-4 weeks.

"Yesterday was time to go to the repair shop," the retired Spanish Grand Tour legend wrote in an Instagram caption. 'They had to remove a fatty tumor and it turns out there are over 100 of them! I won't be able to ride for a while."

Contador sat in front of his AURUM bike, a brand he owns and co-founded with fellow retired cyclist Ivan Basso, and explained in Spanish why he is completely wrapped in bandages from chest to feet.

"This is the bike I'm going to use next month," Contador said, pointing to the AURUM Magma road bike and gesturing to the bandages. This is a fatty tumor that's been there for a long time, and I'm going to use December and January to operate on it. There are more than a hundred of them at this point. It hurts. But anyway, when I get back, I'm going to be like a bullet. ......"

Today, Contador posted on Instagram about BKOOL's Christmas fan-gift opportunity. Contador lifted his shirt again, indicating that the large bandage had been removed and replaced with a smaller bandage, noting that he was on the mend.

Since his retirement in 2017, Contador has remained active in the cycling industry as general manager of the UCI pro team Eolo Cometa and founder with Ivan Basso; the 40-year-old also does race commentary for Eurosport in Spain.